4. What hard lesson did he learn about the relative nature of rewards and work

Washington believes strongly that there is dignity in labor. He notes that one of the worst things about slavery was that it "cause[d] labour, as a rule, to be looked upon as a badge of degradation, of inferiority" (7), while the most important thing he learned at Hampton was that "it was not a disgrace to labour" (28). He celebrates the fact that the lady principal at Hampton joins him to wash windows and prepare beds, and he is adamant that Tuskegee students do manual labor as part of their education. In this way they can learn to be self-reliant and earn the respect of others who value their work.